Frog on a [B]log

Frog on a Blog is the site of children's picture book author Lauri Fortino and her frog friend Finley. You will find oodles of picture book related content on the pages of this blog. If you like to read, write, or share picture books, then you will like this blog! (Image by Jonas Sickler)

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I catalog hundreds of new picture books each year, and I read as many of them as I can. Unfortunately, I can’t review them all. But I can share them! Below are a few recent titles. (Summaries have been taken directly from the books whenever possible.) Check your local library or bookstore for availability.

Sometimes things are out of our control. That’s why I haven’t posted a ‘Picture Books At The Library’ segment in over a month. Yikes! It has to do with library budget and when orders get processed and it’s all very boring. So…while we are waiting on brand new 2019 titles to arrive (soon!), I’ve put together a roundup of 2018 picture books that you may have missed. Lots of wonderful books to seek out! With gorgeous art in all!

FOUND: While missing her dog, a young girl finds, befriends, and cares for another lost dog. Wordless

SOPHIE JOHNSON, UNICORN EXPERT: Sophie is so caught up in teaching others about unicorns that she fails to notice the magic right under her nose.

I JUST LIKE YOU: A diverse group of animals show how friendship can be as simple as appreciating the critter next to you.

LOVE, Z: While out looking for adventure, a young robot finds a message in a bottle that starts him on a quest to find out what love it.

TWINKLE: Twinkle’s spells go from clumsy to catastrophic on her first day of fairy school.

MOUSIE, I WILL READ TO YOU: Follow a mama mouse and her baby on the little mouse’s journey to becoming a reader.

THE BOOK THAT JAKE BORROWED: Jake borrows a library book, drips jelly on it, and must face the consequences.

FOX EXPLORES THE NIGHT: A fox sets off from its den to explore the neighborhood and hunt for food.

NO BORING STORIES: A bunny wants to help the other animals write a story, but they won’t let him because bunnies are too boring.

STEWART’S BEST PEN: Stewart and his pen Craig are best friends, so when Craig disappears, Stewart’s the one who feels lost.

HOW TO EAT PIZZA: A slice of pizza tries to convince the narrator not to eat him. Funny!

WOKE BABY: A woke baby is up early, raises his fists in the air, cries out for justice, and grows up to change the world.

WHAT’S FOR BREAKFAST: While practicing his swooping, Pip the owl crash-lands in the middle of Theodore the mouse’s breakfast.

HAROLD LOVES HIS WOOLLY HAT: Harold feels like a very special bear in his woolly hat, so when it’s stolen, he has to get it back.

STAR IN THE JAR: When a little boy stumbles across a lost star, he decides to take care of it.

IS THAT YOU, ELEANOR SUE: Eleanor Sue is a master of disguise, but when her mother gets in on the act, anything can happen. Pretty darn cute!

Summary: This Book Is Spineless … and wary … and absolutely unadventurous, and is freaking out about what story might be on its pages. The book takes the reader on a journey of its fears, navigating the book’s possible contents together. With each page turn, the book becomes a bit braver. This multilayered book incorporates the five senses, multiple literary genres, and various book parts, with the relationship between book and reader bringing everything together.

Summary:Heartfelt and timeless, Remarkably You is an inspirational manifesto about all of the things—big or small, loud or quiet—that make us who we are. With encouraging text by Pat Zietlow Miller and exuberant illustrations by Patrice Barton, readers will delight in all the ways they can be their remarkable selves.

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I catalog hundreds of new picture books each year, and I read as many of them as I can. Unfortunately, I can’t review them all. But I can share them! Below are a few recent titles. (Summaries have been taken directly from the books whenever possible.) Check your local library or bookstore for availability.

Here are some 2018 titles you may have missed:

PINE & BOOF BLAST OFF: Pine and Boof build a rocket so that they can return an egg from outer space to its nest. Fun!

SPECTACULARLY BEAUTIFUL: Every day, Shahad came to school with perfect hair, but her perfect hair cannot hide her scars.

NIGHT PLAY: A boy and his animal friends put on a stage play. Lift-the-flap pages

ONCE UPON A SNOWSTORM: A boy, lost in the woods during a snowstorm, is aided by the forest animals. Wordless

DREAMLAND: Amelie ventures into a fantastical world in order to uncover her favorite dreams.

LOVED TO BITS: A boy relays the special relationship he has with his teddy bear. Rhyme

ELEANOR WYATT PRINCESS AND PIRATE: Join Eleanor and her friends as they romp through tea parties and sword fights to discover the best treasure of all–being yourself. Rhyme

THE CASE OF THE MISSING CHALK DRAWINGS: The chalks are drawing flowers on the chalkboard, but someone keeps stealing their artwork. Clever and fun!

Our top circulating picture book will probably not be a big surprise: Disney Frozen. Movie and TV tie-ins will forever be popular with kids. It’s a fact of life. This particular version is actually a “look and find” concept book–not a true picture book, in my opinion, but the library has it cataloged as a picture book AND it circulated a whopping 20 times, so I felt it was worth noting in this year’s list.

Also making the list this year is the top book of 2017: Ellie in Concert. This book actually circulated two more times in 2018 (19 times) than in 2017 (17 times), yet wasn’t number one this time around. Interesting, huh?

The rest of the books in our top 21 include the ever-popular series Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol, another Frozen tie-in starring Olaf the snowman, and (Yay!) a beautiful mix of new and old stand alone favorites.

Circulated 20 Times:

This may seem like a small number, but when you consider that each book may be checked out for up to 3 weeks (21 days), that 20 times means the top book was checked out over and over for the entire year!

Circulated 19 Times:

Circulated 18 Times:

Circulated 17 Times:

What are the top circulating picture books at your local library?

Take a look at the top circulating picture books at the Community Library of DeWitt & Jamesville in prior years:

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I catalog hundreds of new picture books each year, and I read as many of them as I can. Unfortunately, I can’t review them all. But I can share them! Below are a few recent titles. (Summaries have been taken directly from the books whenever possible.) Check your local library or bookstore for availability.

A BOY AND A HOUSE: A boy follows a cat and a trail of drawings up several flights of stairs. Thought-provoking wordless story!

EBENEZER HAS A WORD FOR EVERYTHING: No one appreciates Ebenezer’s word collection until he meets a friend who writes stories and could use a word or two.

ANNA AT THE ART MUSEUM: Anna is bored at the art museum until she’s allowed into the secret workshop.

ERROL’S GARDEN: A young boy unites his community by starting a garden on the roof of his building.

UNDER THE SAME SKY: Though we live in different parts of the world, we all live under the same sky. Lovely illustrations!

QUIET WYATT: A friendship is born when soft-spoken Wyatt is paired with outgoing Noreen on a class field trip.

BENJI, THE BAD DAY, AND ME: Sammy is having a very bad day at school and at home until his autistic brother, Benji, finds a way to make him feel better.

CONSTRUCTION ZOO: It’s a quiet morning at the zoo until some strange new creatures roll in.

Like this:

I catalog hundreds of new picture books each year, and I read as many of them as I can. Unfortunately, I can’t review them all. But I can share them! Below are a few recent titles. (Summaries have been taken directly from the books whenever possible.) Check your local library or bookstore for availability.

CARMELA FULL OF WISHES: Carmela, finally old enough to run errands with her brother, tries to think of the perfect wish after finding a lone dandelion.

HOW COULD A BEAR SLEEP HERE?: Shelby the bear is ready to hibernate, but everywhere he tries to fall asleep is far too noisy.

FIRST SNOW: Neighbor kids have fun in the snow together. Sweetly illustrated!

SURPRISE!: Pals Bear, Raccoon, and Squirrel are eager to make friends with some city folk who visit the woods.

ELBOW GREASE: A small electric truck with a lot of gumption, enters the Monster Truck Grand Prix to prove to his brothers that he is just as capable as they are. Fun, colorful art and a great message!

DO YOU BELIEVE IN UNICORNS?: Narrator refuses to believe that a horse in a hat could be a unicorn in disguise. Humorous and sweet!

JUST ADD GLITTER: A girl jazzes up a rainy, boring day with glitter. Fun!

OCTOPUS ESCAPES!: Octopus slips out of his tank while the aquarium sleeps and leads the security guard on a merry chase.

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Please welcome picture book author Henry Herz back to Frog on a Blog. You may remember the interview I did with Henry last year. Or you may be familiar with one of his wonderful books. Just this year, three new picture books were published, and I recently discovered another is set to be published in February. Henry is on a roll! Henry’s stopped in today to talk a little about how Rudyard Kipling and the amazing diversity of the animal kingdom helped influence one of his latest books, How the Squid Got Two Long Arms, and how they can inspire your writing too, so that you can entertain and educate kids.

Rudyard Kipling is perhaps best known for his JUST SO STORIES, a compilation of delightful fictional explanations for why many animals are the way they are. Some of its short stories include: How the Whale Got His Throat, How the Camel Got His Hump, How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin, How the Leopard Got His Spots, and How the Elephant Got His Trunk.

Kipling deserves credit not only for his impressive creativity, but also his mastery of language and humor. Here’s the glorious opening passage of How the Whale Got His Throat. “On the sea, once upon a time, O my Best Beloved, there was a Whale, and he ate fishes. He ate the starfish and the garfish, and the crab and the dab, and the plaice and the dace, and the skate and his mate, and the mackereel and the pickereel, and the really truly twirly-whirly eel. All the fishes he could find in all the sea he ate with his mouth—so! Till at last there was only one small fish left in all the sea, and he was a small ‘Stute Fish, and he swam a little behind the Whale’s right ear, so as to be out of harm’s way. Then the Whale stood up on his tail and said, ‘I’m hungry.’ And the small ‘Stute Fish said in a small ‘stute voice, ‘Noble and generous Cetacean, have you ever tasted Man?’”

I’ve been a fan of the JUST SO STORIES since my mom read them to me when I was a young child. I’m frequently amazed at the diversity of life on Earth. So, when I learned that two of a squid’s arms were longer than the others (don’t ask me why), I decided to write a picture book offering a “creative” explanation for that development. And I wanted to employ alliteration and lyrical language to evoke (and honor) Kipling.

The second influence in the writing of my book was one of my all-time favorites – the immensely talented Jon Klassen’s Caldecott-winning picture book, THIS IS NOT MY HAT, in which a little fish steals a big fish’s hat, and gets his comeuppance in the end. I liked the theme of “do unto others”, and I especially loved the irony of the unreliable narrator. To me, few things ring so true and are as funny as people’s ability to deceive themselves. Thus, with an admiring mashup of Kipling and Klassen, HOW THE SQUID GOT TWO LONG ARMS was, er, spawned.

Now, Kipling’s comic premise, the idea that an animal’s features that are modified after is birth (e.g., clipping a bird’s feathers) could somehow be genetically passed to its offspring has been discredited by Mendelian genetics. Although it did gain its own label: Larmarkism, after Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Your immediate response should be: “Who cares? These are FICTIONAL tales.” And you’d be right. But I’d add that fact can be stranger than fiction. Here are a few crazy animal traits that evolved over time. These critters clearly all deserve their own Just So Story too. Go home Darwin, you’re drunk! 🙂

The Star-Nosed Mole (Condylura cristata)

With impressive digging claws and a face only a mother could love, the star-nosed mole’s claim to fame is the 22 appendages surrounding its nose. They are not olfactory, but rather touch organs that help the functionally blind mole find food. The journal Nature rates it the fastest-eating mammal, taking as little as 120 milliseconds to detect something, decide if it’s edible, and eat it. That is even faster than I can eat Boston crème pie.

The Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques)

This master of disguise looks like something right out of a high fantasy novel. When not simply drifting, movement is achieved by the small, nearly transparent pectoral and dorsal fins. Its leafy protrusions do not aid in propulsion. Their only purpose is camouflage. It’s built for stealth, not speed. As if that’s not enough, they can change color to further blend in with seaweed. Now you see me, now you don’t.

The Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)

This seven-foot long, 90-lb. pin-striped mammal is a walking vacuum cleaner. While its huge bushy tail is impressive, its foot-long snout is what makes it a fuzzy terror to ants and termites alike. Technically, it’s the tongue that shoots 18 inches out of the snout that gives insects nightmares. The anteater has poor eyesight, but a sense of smell 40 times more powerful than humans. That, combined with huge digging claws make mincemeat out of anthills or termite mounds. Adding insult to injury, the anteater doesn’t even produce its own stomach acid. Its digestion is aided by the formic acid provided by its prey. Now, that’s just lazy.

Mother Nature gives us authors so much material with which to work. I hope these wonders of the natural world with exaggerated features increase your appetite for how fiction and non-fiction are both terrific ways to entertain kids and inspire them to learn.

Henry Herz has an engineering Bachelors from Cornell, an engineering Masters from George Washington U., and a national security studies Masters from Georgetown, none of which helps him write fantasy and science fiction for children. He is represented by Deborah Warren of East/West Literary Agency. Henry is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). He participates in literature panels at a variety of conventions, including San Diego Comic-Con and WonderCon. Henry reviews children’s books for the San Francisco Book Review and the San Diego Book Review.

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I catalog hundreds of new picture books each year, and I read as many of them as I can. Unfortunately, I can’t review them all. But I can share them! Below are a few recent titles. (Summaries have been taken directly from the books whenever possible.) Check your local library or bookstore for availability.

Check out the very different art styles in this selection of picture books! All terrific!

WINTER IS HERE: Kids experience the joys and hardships of winter and look forward to spring. Lovely art!

NEVER LET YOU GO: A celebration of the bond between parent and child.

THE SNOWY NAP: After hearing about winter from his friends, Hedgie the hedgehog tries to stay awake to experience its wonders.

AM I YOURS?: Several friendly dinosaurs help a lost egg get reunited with its parents. Sweet and a fun read aloud!

NEW YORK MELODY: A stray musical note explores the sounds of New York City. Beautiful lasercut illustrations!

I spent most of my teaching career at a school with a population of over 90% Latinx. When I heard about Alma and How She Got Her Name, by Juana Martinez-Neal, it was especially interesting to me because I miss my Chicago students and imagined them hearing the book. Lucky for me, I have a wonderful group of students here in Colorado to read to, coming from a variety of ethnicities.

The basic premise of Alma, is she thinks her name is too long, until her father explains to her how she got the name Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela. It’s a lovely story celebrating family, tradition, and being proud of who you are.

I can turn any book into a lesson and an activity after years of teaching. With Alma, the teaching extension wrote itself. When I first told them there would be homework, they protested, but when I explained what it would be, the energy in the room shifted to enthusiasm. The children were given a graphic organizer and sent home with the task of asking their parents about the origin story of their names.

As the children returned with their homework, I learned one of them is named after a WWE wrestler that his father likes and another is named for an NFL player. One is named for a Disney character, and another is named for a character in a movie her mom liked. The stories of aunts, uncles, grandparents were also shared on the page and in class. Many of them didn’t know these stories before the assignment and that is a tribute to Juana Martinez-Neal and her inspiring story.

As a picture book writer, I’ve been studying different aspects of craft and I believe this book is a perfect example of heart. Julie Hedlund, founder of the picture book challenge 12×12, talks about how heart is so important in picture books. I find it hard to define heart, but easy to find examples. The illustrations, also the work of Juana Martinez-Neal, are unique and match the story perfectly, complete with sepia toned drawings that look like old photographs.

This book earns 5 stars from me because its simple message is full of heart and it created a wonderful family project for my students. I’m sure many families would find this to be inspirational.

Laura Roettiger is the author of the picture book Aliana Reaches for the Moon (Eifrig Publishing, 2019) She has enjoyed working with children ever since she was no longer considered a child herself. She was a reading specialist and elementary teacher in Chicago, IL before moving to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where she worked in Environmental Education and is now a mentor for reading and writing at a STEM school. Her superpower is encouraging curiosity in children and letting them know she believes in them. Laura has three children of her own, all of whom were led by curiosity and creativity into STEM-related professions. Laura is also a part of #PictureBookBuzz, a group of authors with books being released in 2019.

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Frog on a [B]log

Frog on a Blog is the site of children's picture book author Lauri Fortino and her frog friend Finley. You will find oodles of picture book related content on the pages of this blog. If you like to read, write, or share picture books, then you will like this blog! (Image by Jonas Sickler)

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